We have an Independence Day tradition at our gym. We celebrate our Independence by honoring women who have died in service to it. We have done this since I opened the gym 9 years ago, and we continue this year.
Today we honor our Nation's Heroines with Jenny. Jenny, the second ever CrossFit female Hero WOD, is in honor of U.S. Army Capt. Jennifer M. Moreno, of San Diego, California. She commissioned in the U.S. Army as a nurse corps officer after graduating from the University of San Francisco with a nursing degree. She served with the Madigan Army Medical Center medical center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, as a clinical staff nurse on a medical surgical unit. After completing Army airborne training in 2009, she volunteered for a position with U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Moreno served with a joint special operations task force as a cultural support team member, the only combat role at that time for female soldiers. She was just three months into her first deployment with the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, on a mission in the Zhari district in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, when she died Oct. 6, 2013, after an improvised explosive device blast. The multiple IED explosions that killed Moreno also took the life of two Rangers, an Army MP and wounded 25 others. She was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor for rushing into a building amidst the explosions to render aid to a wounded Ranger when she was killed. In addition to a Bronze Star Medal, Moreno posthumously promoted to captain. She also received a Combat Action Badge, a Meritorious Service Medal, a Purple Heart, an Afghanistan Campaign Medal and a NATO Medal. She is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California, Section W, Site 974. Rest in peace, Ma'am. I've got the watch.
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Women Can Be Heroes, Too
All this week we are honoring a special category of heroines, military women who died in service to our country. These heroines are only 4 of the 152 women who were killed in action from September 11, 2001 to August 26, 2021 during the Global War on Terror.
Women have been serving with honor and distinction in the military for over 100 years and because of the Combat Exclusion Policy very few women have been killed in action. According to Army Times, 7,000 women served in Vietnam, but only 16 were killed, most of them nurses. In the first Persian Gulf War, 33,000 women were deployed, but only 6 perished due to scud missile explosions or accidents. (Nov. 24, 2003) After the Persian Gulf War in 1991, the Combat Exclusion Policy was lifted on aviation positions on April 28, 1993 allowing women to fly combat aircraft and serve in some air combat support positions. However, they were still barred from direct ground combat operations. The Global War on Terror changed the role of women in ground combat operations. The development of the Cultural Support Teams highlighted the need for women to be directly involved in ground combat operations. These women, including 2 of this week's heroines, Ashley White and Jenny Moreno, volunteered to be at the "tip of the spear." They were embedded with special forces units and engaged in direct intelligence, reconnaissance and combat operations. These women provided the "proof of concept" that women can and should be allowed to serve in any military occupational specialty for which they are qualified. Because of their exceptional bravery and service, the Combat Exclusion Policy was lifted on January 24, 2013. If you would like to know more about the women in combat and specifically Lt. White's story, please read Ashley's War. I have included an expert below.
 We have an Independence Day tradition at our gym. We celebrate our Independence by honoring women who have died in service to it. We have done this since I opened the gym 9 years ago, and we continue this year. Today we start honoring our Nation's Heroines with White. U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ashley White, 24, of Alliance, OH, assigned to the 230th Brigade Support Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina National Guard, based in Goldsboro, NC, died on October 22, 2011 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device. Lt White was a member of an US Army Cultural Support Team. Cultural Support Teams were deployed in small detachments with male infantry units in Iraq and Afghanistan order to collect information from families and communicate with women without breaking cultural taboos. Women Marines and Soldiers received special combat training in order to be detached to infantry units. These women proved themselves admirably in combat situations and were instrumental in collecting intelligence that was unavailable to their male counterparts. If you would like to know more about the women in combat and specifically Lt. White's story, please read Ashley's War. She is survived by her husband Captain Jason Stumpf, her parents Robert and Deborah, brother Josh, and sister Brittney. “White” was the first CrossFit female Hero WOD, first posted on the CrossFit Main Site as the workout of the day for Tuesday November 8, 2011. CrossFit’s next female hero WOD, “Jenny,” was first posted in 2014 and you will honor her on Friday. Rest in peace, Ma'am. I've got the watch. |
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